livelock
<parallel> /li:v'lok/ When two or more processes continuously change
their state in response to changes in the other process(es) without doing any
useful work.
This is similar to deadlock in that no progress is made but differs in that
neither process is blocked or waiting for anything.
A human example of livelock would be two people who meet face-to-face in a
corridor and each moves aside to let the other pass, but they end up swaying
from side to side without making any progress because they always move the same
way at the same time.
[Jargon File]
(1998-07-05)
Nearby terms:
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livelock » LiveScript » liveware » lk
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